Page 1 of Seductive Swimmer
1
Savannah
Only crazy people workout at five am by choice.
It’s not the first time that thought has crossed my mind, nor will it be the last, I’m sure. A shiver and a yawn wrack my body simultaneously as I hurry down the sidewalk to my local neighborhood fitness center. I’ve been swimming here every weekday morning for over a year. Sure, I could go later in the day; I’m self employed, after all. But there’s something about being up before most people, especially in a city like Manhattan that never really goes to sleep. Not to mention the pool is always empty, so I get my choice of lanes. I like to be over to the side, closest to the hot tub.
Swimming soothes my mind, body, and soul. And as a single woman trying to make her way in New York City, I need all the soothing I can get. But lately something, or someone I should say, has been disrupting my early morning zen. And that someone is about six and a half feet of pure male yumminess.
These days, when I walk out on the deck, the first thing I do is check the lane next to mine.
All hail the sexy swimmer guy.He’s back.
This is the fifth day in a row he’s been swimming in the lane next to the one I always choose, and although we haven’t said a single word to each other, the seven times — yes, seven — that our eyes have met, I swear the air crackles with electricity.
Now, I’m not necessarily saying that swimmers are the sexiest athletes around, but then again…with that much skin showing, they certainly can be. Especially when they look like this guy. His body was made for sin. Tall and lean, yet muscular, and the way he fills out a speedo should be illegal. It’s probably a good thing I haven’t seen him up close yet, or I suspect I’d be drooling over his hotness. He’s got a tattoo on his forearm that seems to be some sort of stylized feather, but I can’t really tell. I know I’ve seen Olympic rings on his back, right between his shoulder blades. A tattooed athlete. Come to mama.
He’s the kind of guy I should avoid. Guys that sexy mean trouble. Isn’t that what every single romance novel and cheesy movie has taught us? And I do not need trouble in my life. Nope. Not at all. Even if trouble does seem like it could be a whole helluva lot of fun…
Today he’s in the middle of a breathtaking lap of butterfly stroke as I slide into the water. The way he moves, it’s just incredible. I have never seen skill and power like his. It’s no surprise that he’s likely a former Olympian based on his ink.
I push off the wall and propel my arms through the water, willing my legs to kick as fast as possible. Pushing my body physically seems like the only thing that allows me to ignore my attraction to this guy. It’s for the best, really. The last time I acted on my attraction to a handsome man was the last time I let myself be hurt by any man. With supreme hotness comes supreme assholeness.
The inevitable grunt that comes as I heave my exhausted body out of the pool when I finish my workout has me quickly glancing around to make sure no one heard me. Elegant, I am not. But I don’t need to advertise that. The lifeguard is walking around the other side of the pool, so no danger of her witnessing my awkward exit from the water.
And thankfully, sexy swimmer guy is still slicing through the water smoother than a knife through soft butter. I’m sure there’s a better way to describe him, but it’s early and I’m hungry. For a buttered bagel from the bodega on the corner by my apartment.
I don’t know why the pool gods decided to grace me with this gorgeous man’s presence, but I’m glad he chose this pool to swim every morning. Even if he is alook but don’t touchkind of thing.
As I pat myself dry with my towel, I hear the sounds of someone climbing out of the water. I force myself not to turn around. He walks past me, and I can hear his heavy breathing, which is understandable given how intense his workouts always seem to be. He doesn’t say a word to me, just goes straight into the hot tub. Now I can’t help but see him as he’s in my direct line of sight and he’s closer than he’s ever been. He’s got dark hair that is mussed on top from running his hands through it when he got out of the water, I presume. Thick eyebrows frame his eyes, and his jaw is strong and confident looking. He stretches his arms out along the edge of the tub, and even from where I stand, I can see his chest heaving.Dang, those are some nice muscles.I gulp, grateful that he’s far enough away that he probably can’t tell I’m ogling. But just as I think I’m safe from embarrassment, his eyes catch mine, he winks, and I almost trip over my own feet.
Shit. He saw me.
That’s just my luck. Awkward Van, making an idiot of herself around handsome men since she was a teenager.
I quickly turn around and walk toward the women’s locker room. I wanted to have a soak in the giant hot tub myself, but there’s no way I can bring myself to sit in there with him. It’s only when I’m alone in the showers, rinsing off the chlorine, that I let my mind fill with the same fantasy I’ve had each morning this week. Sexy swimmer guy sneaks into the women’s showers, peels my suit off of me, and fucks me underneath the spray. I get chills all over my body despite the hot water raining down on me, and I open my eyes, blushing furiously. Getting turned on just from looking at a complete stranger in a public pool is a new level of lame, even for me.
The truth is, it’s been a while since a man gave me an orgasm. Lately, it’s just been me, myself, and my battery-operated friend. After all, it’s hard to find a guy who’s interested in the nerdy girls who can quote all of theStar Warsmovies and would rather be at home eating Cheetos than out at a club. My last boyfriend didn’t even know who Poe Dameron was. Unacceptable.
Once I’m showered, I pull on my cozy sweatshirt and leggings and slide my feet into runners, then head out into the early morning. I’ve got full day of data entry ahead of me, and if I don’t get coffee and the bagel I’m craving before I start working, I’ll be hangry in no time. And a hangry accountant is a useless accountant. The same could be said for a horny accountant…and I won’t lie, if the bodega by my apartment where I plan to buy my breakfast sold something as yummy as sexy swimmer guy, I’d definitely take a bite.
My crazy libido makes me take a furtive look around as I head outside to see if I can catch a glimpse of him leaving as well, but no luck. Trying to ignore the disappointment I feel at that, I hurry down the sidewalk, and shift my focus onto the rest of my day. My mom’s voice is in my head, reminding me of something she says.
It does no good to dwell on what we cannot have.
Sexy swimmer guy definitely falls into the ‘cannot have’ category.
Yeah, well, sorry Mom, I failed. I’ve spent the better part of three hours dwelling on what I can’t have.
Even caffeinated and fed, I find myself thinking about that wink. He winked. At me. He caught me staring and winked. It was cocky as hell, but still sent heat rushing between my legs. Then again, I would hazard a guess that any guy who looks like him gets stared at a lot. He’s probably perfected that wink as his response to any woman who notices him.
But I have a mountain of payroll I need to enter for my part-time job. Which means, somehow, I need to think about somethingotherthan sexy swimmer guy. Thankfully, working from home allows me to multitask. So, while I get logged in to my computer, I grab my favorite green fuzzy socks out of my bedroom. Once I’m settled at my desk, I open the payroll software I use for Forever Grey, the dog rescue I work for, and my email. I take a sip of coffee from my favoriteDoctor Whomug as I scroll through my new messages, deleting the crap that clutters my inbox and flagging anything that seems important. One such message catches my eye. It’s from Brayden Cross, cofounder and CFO of the DC Restaurant Group. They have two locations here in Manhattan, and in a recent edition of theFinancial Post, there was an article about them expanding to a third. My friend Bianca’s husband, Dex, had mentioned that they were looking for an accounting consultant to help them with a full-scale analysis of profit margins to ensure their revenue could handle the third location. I had put my name forward a week ago, never imagining they would be interested.
FROM: Brayden Cross
TO: Savannah Reese
SUBJECT: Contract for service
